ASOIAF: The Saga of Ice
by Roma Vivit
Summary: The gods of the world are more active, more prone to interfere. And when they find that the future is not going the way they want it to, they act.
1. Introduction to a World of Ice and Fire

**So, I've decided to put my hand toward some writing once again. This one is a little better thought out, but perhaps still not much better put together than my previous ones. Either way, this first 'Chapter' is just a list that I have put together based upon some canon sources, as well as some non canon sources about the populations, army size and wealth of the various political entities in the World of Ice and Fire. I acknowledge that I am no master statistician, but I do hope that this stuff makes sense to you as it does to me. Some of this is my own personal opinion, and some is widely believed(though that does not mean that it is necessarily true. I realize that there will be errors, but please stick it out for me. Anyways, if you don't really care about this kind of stuff then just skip to the next chapter, which I will hopefully have out soon.**

 **And so, behold, The List.**

* * *

The Populations(and other stats) of the Various Kingdoms of the Seven Kingdoms(8? 9? 10?), as well as those of Essos in a more generalized manner.

 **Westeros**

 **The Seven Kingdoms**

The North -

It has never made sense to me that the North would be one of the most lightly populated areas. Yes, it is a cold,dreary and hard life. But it is also 1/3 of Westeros either way. And the Northmen are hardy, tough people.

Population - 6,500,000

The Vale -

Cold, mountainous and with infighting between the various mountain clans and villages still, the population is not as large as it could, or even should be. But the hardy folk of the Vale endure nonetheless.

Population - 3,700,000

The Riverlands -

A warmer, extremely fertile and central place, but without any natural borders so always stomped on in wars.

Population - 5,400,000

The Iron Islands -

They are a hugely war, and specifically sea-warfare based society, but there still must be support for those warriors back home.

Population - 300,000

The Westerlands -

The naturally richest of the kingdoms, the Westerlands are known for their gold, silver, and mountains. They are rich, and relatively fertile except in the lower valleys and the southern edges of the Westerlands where they are more so.

Population - 5,100,000

The Crownlands -

A relatively fertile, but also relatively smaller area of the kingdoms.

Population - 2,500,000

The Reach -

The most fertile, and also the second largest of the kingdoms, the Reach has a huge population, as well as large wealth and natural resources. Also relatively impervious to winter in the southern reaches.

Population - 13,000,000

The Stormlands -

Hardy folk, but not a superbly fertile or rich land. Martial prowess and power are adored here, and that shows.

Population - 3,600,000

Dorne -

The Dornish have always been skittish of sharing their true numbers, and for good reason. They are not as populous as most would believe compared to the other kingdoms, but do have easy trade routes to Essos if one can travel the Stepstones safely. Winters leave Dorne largely unaffected

Population - 2,900,000

I have included the 15 largest cities/towns of Westeros, as well as population and location.

King's Landing/Crownlands - 500,000

Oldtown/Reach - 430,000

Lannisport/Westerlands - 300,000

Gulltown/Vale - 80,000

White Harbor/North - 50,000

Planky Town/Dorne - 35,000

Vinetown/Reach - 35,000

Maidenpool/Riverlands - 35,000

Kayce/Westerlands - 25,000

Weeping Town/Stormlands - 25,000

Fairmarket/Riverlands - 25,000

Wintertown/North - 20,000

Lord Harroway's Town/Riverlands - 20,000

Lord Hewett's Town/Reach - 15,000

Barrowton/North - 15,000

 **Total Population of The Seven Kingdoms** \- 43,000,000

The Wall -

There are a few settlements that lie in the Gift and New Gift, and some are not known to everyone. There are also going to be many people who do not necessarily take part in the rest of the world, and I have tried to reflect that in these numbers.

Population - 25,000

Beyond the Wall -

A large land with plenty animals, the cold, dreary, not very fertile land north of the Wall is not hugely inhabited, though still more than most would think I assume.

Population - 400,000

The Stepstones -

Infested mostly by pirates, there are still various settlements occupying the islands.

Population - 50,000

 **Essos**

Lorathi Territories -

The most remote of the Free Cities, and also the smallest and weakest, but still a valuable trade partner with wares from Norvos and Qohor.

Population - 2,200,000

City of Lorath - 250,000

Braavosi Territories -

The richest, youngest and most powerful of the Free Cities, Braavos sits on an island but controls much of the land near it on Essos proper.

Population - 6,500,000

City of Braavos - 750,000

Pentoshi Territories -

Directly across from King's Landing, Pentos is rich and controls much of the farmland around it, but doesn't compare to Braavos or Volantis in size or trade.

Population - 4,500,000

City of Pentos - 500,000

Myrish Territories -

One of the Three Daughters, Myr is rather large but is constantly at war with the other two over the Disputed Lands. It sits on the mainland itself and so controls more territory relative to the other daughters.

Population - 3,300,000  
City of Myr - 450,000

Tyroshi Territories -

One of the Three Daughters, Tyrosh is rather large but is constantly at war with the other two over the Disputed Lands. It sits on an island and so has limited control on the mainland, but is closer to Westeros than the other two.

Population - 2,800,000

City of Tyrosh - 380,000

Lysene Territories -

One of the Three Daughters, Lys is rather large but is constantly at war with the other two over the Disputed Lands. It sits on an island and so has limited control on the mainland, but is an important stopping point on the way to Volantis and Slaver's Bay.

Population - 3,000,000

City of Lys 410,000

Norvos -

With many small towns and lots of farmland subservient to it, Norvos is rather large, though not especially rich.

Population 5,000,000

City of Norvos - 600,000

Qohor -

Far inland, and with fewer trading partners and less subservient cities and town, Qohor is not as large nor as powerful or rich as Norvos, though the natural resources of lumber still make it a large city.

Population 3,000,000

City of Qohor 450,000

Volantis -

The largest of the cities on Essos, the city of Volantis itself comprises a large portion of the population, as well as the other cities of Volon Therys, Valysar and Selhorys.

Population - 20,000,000

City of Volantis - 1,225,000

City of Selhorys - 500,000

City of Volon Therys - 450,000

City of Valysar - 450,000

 **Farther East**

Astapor -

A city of Slaver's Bay, known for their Unsullied slave warriors.

Population - 4,000,000

City of Astapor - 350,000

Yunkai -

A city in Slaver's Bay.

Population - 4,250,000

City of Yunkai - 380,000

Meereen -

The greatest of the cities in Slaver's Bay.

Population - 5,000,000

City of Meereen - 750,000

New Ghis -

An up and coming power around Slaver's Bay, with expanding holdings on the mainland.

Population - 3,500,000

City of New Ghis - 320,000

Qarth -

A rich, powerful city, though not as populous as it could be due to having few fertile lands of its own, and has to rely on trade for much of its food.

Population - 6,000,000

City Of Qarth - 650,000

Yi Ti -

Not much is known of the Yi Ti, but they are known to have large cities, large armies and large bank accounts.

Population - Speculated to be 60,000,000 or more, with many cities over 1,000,000

Asshai and the Shadowlands-

Even less is known about Asshai than Yi Ti, but it is known that the water is poisonous, and the animals are strange. With not much farmland, and perpetual shadow, the city of Asshai is said to be colossal, but largely uninhabited.

Population - Somewhere around 3-7,000,000

City of Asshai - 350,000

 **The Various Finances of the Seven Kingdoms**

The North -

Not superbly prosperous but very old. Much of the hoarded money in the deeper vaults of the Starks contain not Golden Dragons, but the older currencies of the Kings of Winter, and some of the free cities monies and the older southern kingdoms as well.

Current Vault - 5,000,000

*Net Income - 180,000

Taxes - 120,000

*Tariffs - 20,000

Stark Holdings and Trade - 60,000

The Riverlands -

Young ruling house but richer lands, although torn apart in times of war.

Current Vault - 750,000

Net Income - 220,000

Taxes - 150,000

Tariffs - 20,000

Tully Holdings and Trade - 70,000

The Vale -

Oldest Andal house, with ties even back to Essos. Not extremely rich, but trade through Gulltown directly to Essos makes them well off

Current Vault - 1,500,000

Net Income - 170,000

Taxes - 100,000

Tariffs - 20,000

Arryn Holdings and Trade - 70,000

The Iron Islands -

Much is hoarded in the depths of the Iron Islands, more than they would have others know. Much of their vault is made up of various treasures acquired over years of 'Paying the Iron Price'

Current Vault - 2,000,000

Net Income - Estimated Average of 135,000

Taxes - 25,000

Tariffs - 5,000

Greyjoy Holdings - 10,000

Piracy - 100,000

The Westerlands -

The pockets of the West run deep, and the mines of the Lannisters even deeper still.

Current Vault - 10,000,000

Net Income - 500,000(Truly down to how much mining the Lannisters want to do)

Taxes - 250,000

Tariffs - 100,000

Lannister Holdings and Trade - 250,000

Mining Operations - 200,000

The Reach -

A younger house, but perhaps the richest in terms of trade, land, and power.

Current Vault - 5,000,000

Net Income - 500,000

Taxes - 300,000

Tariffs - 150,000

Tyrell Holdings and Trade - 200,000

Dorne -

An old house, and easy access to Essos, if one can cross the Stepstones unharmed.

Current Vault - 1,500,000

Net Income - 150,000

Taxes - 100,000

Tariffs - 30,000

Martell Holdings - 50,000

The Stormlands -

An old house, inheriting the vault of the old Durrandons before them, though not especially rich.

Current Vault - 3,500,000

Net Income - 150,000

Taxes - 110,000  
Tariffs - 25,000

Baratheon Holdings - 40,000

The Crownlands -

Each house is directly sworn to the king, and so therefore will not be included here, but in the Crown Income next.

The Crown -

The lands of Westeros are rich, poor, cold, hot, wet, dry and everything in between. Trade with Essos and taxes have made them rich, yet war, debauchery and bad trade have made them poor.

Current Vault - -8,500,000

Debts -

Iron Bank - 2,000,000

The Westerlands - 4,000,000

The Faith - 1,000,000

Various Other Lenders - 1,500,000

Yearly Income - 1,000,000

Taxes - 800,000

North - 50,000

Vale - 50,000

Riverlands - 50,000

Iron Islands - 20,000

Westerlands - 150,000

Reach - 150,000

Dorne - 50,000

Stormlands - 50,000

Crownlands - 30,000

Tariffs - 200,000

Crown Holdings - 200,000

Net Income - (1,000,000 of Yearly Income minus the below) = -150,000

Lifestyle of the Royals - 250,000

Tournaments and Feasts - 500,000

'Mismanaged Money' - 150,000

Debt Repayment - 100,000

Money Borrowing - 150,000

*This is after Taxes to the Crown have been paid, as well as the various expenses. I did not include that for the sake of being too much info.

*Tariffs are just a subset of taxes, to simulate trade between kingdoms and Essos as well. They do not add to taxes, they are just a major subset of it, which is the same with the Lannister mines. However, the tariffs under the Crown are added on, as those come directly from King's Landing to the Crown's Purse.

The Night's Watch -

The Night's Watch trades furs and lumber through Eastwatch to the Seven Kingdoms and Essos. They also have some holdings in the Iron Bank, through which they make some small money. Much of the cost for the Night's Watch is provided for by the Lord Paramount of the North, as well as the self sufficiency of the Watchmen themselves.

Current Vault - 50,000

*Yearly Income - 15,000

Trade - 5,000

Night's Watch Holdings - 10,000

*Not including expenses.

 **Essos**

Lorath -

Income - 350,000

Braavos -

Income - 2,250,000

Pentos -

Income - 750,000

Norvos -

Income - 650,000

Qohor -

Income - 500,000

Myr -

Income - 550,000

Tyrosh -

Income - 500,000

Lys -

Income - 550,000

Volantis -

Income - 2,000,000

 **Farther East**

Astapor -

Income - 450,000

Yunkai -

Income - 550,000

Meereen

Income - 850,000

New Ghis

Income - 500,000

Qarth

Income - 1,250,000

Yi Ti

Income - Unknown, speculated to be multiple millions

Asshai

Income - 1,000,000

 **Troop Amounts of The Seven Kingdoms**

 **The North** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 20,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 4,000

Foot(Heavy) - 11,000

Archers - 5,000

 **Levies** \- 50,000

Mounted(Light) - 12,000

Foot(Light) - 29,000

Archers - 9,000

 **Total** \- 70,000

Mounted - 17,000

Foot - 40,000

Archers - 14,000

 **The Vale** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 15,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 5,000

Foot(Heavy) - 7,000

Archers - 3,000

 **Levies** \- 35,000

Mounted(Light) - 10,000

Foot(Light) - 18,000

Archers - 7,000

 **Total** \- 50,000

Mounted - 15,000

Foot - 25,000

Archers - 10,000

 **The Riverlands** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 20,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 5,000

Foot(Heavy) -11,000

Archers - 4,000

 **Levies** \- 40,000

Mounted(Light) - 10,000

Foot(Light) - 23,000

Archers - 7,000

 **Total** \- 60,000

Mounted - 15,000

Foot - 34,000

Archers - 11,000

 **The Iron Islands** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 15,000

Foot(Heavy) - 12,000

Archers - 3,000

 **Levies** \- 15,000

Foot(Light) - 13,000

Archers - 2,000

Total - 30,000

Foot - 25,000

Archer - 5,000

 **The Westerlands** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 25,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 5,000

Foot(Heavy) -15,000

Archers - 5,000

 **Levies** \- 50,000

Mounted(Light) - 13,000

Foot(Light) - 30,000

Archers -7,000

 **Total** \- 75,000

Mounted - 18,000

Foot - 45,000

Archers - 12,000

 **The Reach** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 30,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 8,000

Foot(Heavy) - 17,000

Archers - 5,000

 **Levies** \- 100,000

Mounted(Light) - 25,000

Foot(Light) - 60,000

Archers - 15,000

 **Total** \- 130,000

Mounted - 33,000

Foot - 77,000

Archers - 17,000

 **Dorne** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 15,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 2,500

Foot(Spear) -9,000

Archers - 3,500

 **Levies** \- 25,000

Mounted(Light) - 3,000

Foot(Spear) - 18,000

Archers - 4,000

 **Total** \- 40,000

Mounted - 5,500

Foot(Spear) - 27,000

Archers - 7,500

 **The Stormlands** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 20,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 5,000

Foot(Heavy) -12,000

Archers - 3,000

 **Levies** \- 25,000

Mounted(Light) - 3,500

Foot(Light) - 18,000

Archers - 3,500

 **Total** \- 45,000

Mounted - 8,500

Foot - 30,000

Archers - 6,500

 **The Crownlands** -

 **Professional Troops** \- 20,000

Mounted(Heavy) - 2,500

Foot(Heavy) -14,000

Archers - 3,500

 **Levies** \- 15,000

Mounted(Light) - 2,500

Foot(Light) - 10,000

Archers - 2,500

 **Total** \- 35,000

Mounted - 5,000

Foot - 24,000

Archers - 6,000

 **The Crown** -

Can Call Upon, the houses are 'obligated' through roughly feudal contracts to send this many troops if the Crown explicitly calls upon them.

North - 15,000

Vale - 15,000

Riverlands - 15,000

Iron Islands - 0

Westerlands - 15,000

Reach - 30,000

Dorne - 10,000

Stormlands - 15,000

The Crown Total - 115,000

All Kingdoms Total - 505,000(Not including Iron Islands)

*The Professional troops are what the Houses would have raised at all times, or the standing army. The guards of Winterfell, or the Dreadfort, or Last Hearth, the City Guard of Oldtown and King's Landing, etc. The levies would be those raised in times of war from the smallfolk. The levies, specifically the foot and mounted(the archers would generally be semi-trained from hunting already) would be hastily trained ad usually lighter armed and armoured than the standing troops.

In the case of Dorne, there are public training sessions for any child above 7 to practice with the spear, and thus all of the troops are lightly armoured and use spears, not swords.

In the case of the Iron Islands, all of the raiders are the 15,000 'professional' troops with heavier armor that raid constantly across the known world, while the levies would still be those skilled in seafaring, but perhaps more towards fishing than true Ironborn reaving.

 **Essos Troop Sizes**

Lorath -

20,000

Braavos -

50,000

Pentos -

35,000

Norvos -

35,000

Qohor -

25,000

Myr -

25,000

Tyrosh -

25,000

Lys -

25,000

Volantis -

80,000

 **Farther East**

Astapor -

30,000

Yunkai -

35,000

Meereen

45,000

New Ghis

30,000

Qarth

45,000

Yi Ti

Speculated to be around the same as all of Westeros, or approximately 500,000

Asshai

Unknown if they have a military, or even a city guard. The sorcerers and shadowbinders seem to keep the peace of Asshai, and none have dared to provoke them beyond the God-Emperors of old.

*It must be noted that many of the Free Cities have been forced by Braavos to not take up arms. These numbers are based completely on population, as well as the hiring of mercenary companies, and are therefore mostly speculation.

I will speak of travel times as more of a broad thing, and will use some specific examples as a way to clarify how distance will work in this story. In canon, GRRM has said that Westeros is supposed to be the size of South America. This would leave the continent at being 3,000 miles from Dorne to the Wall, or approximately 200 days, or just over 6 months of travel. That leaves north of the Wall, including the parts we cant see, as being about 1200 miles. I feel that that is much too large, as troop movements and trade would be much more subdued, and the story would move much more slowly than I feel it did. For example, King's Landing would be about 1500 miles from Winterfell, looking at 3 months of travel. That is unreasonable to me, so I've shortened from Dorne to the Wall, to be about 1800 miles'; around 4 months travel from Dorne to the Wall.

Other examples would be

KL to Casterly Rock. 830 canon miles to 500 in this, or just under 7 weeks to just under 5 weeks.

Winterfell to castle Black. 650 miles to 390 miles. 43 days to 26 days.

In short, it seems closer to canon than what I have seen people estimate off of the 3,000 mile distance, who have multiple weeks and months traveling just between the various strongholds. It did not take Tywin Lannister almost 2 months to travel from Casterly Rock to Kings Landing after hearing of the rebels victory over the Crown. There is just no way that makes sense to me.

* * *

 **Well if you read this all the way through; Congratulations! You made it. I always found this stuff interesting. I hope you did as well. I do hope that you will continue reading my story even after all this boring stuff that I put in here.**

 **Signing off,**

 **Roma Vivit**


	2. Chapter 1

**Welp, heres's chapter one for ya! I've had this book on my find for the last two years, thought I hadn't begun to think seriously on it until recent days. Hope you enjoy.**

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A Song of Ice and Fire: The Saga of Ice

Imagine a land far away, stuck in the time of an ancient past, called Westeros. This was a land of an elaborate history, soaked in blood and fire, death and ice, and above all; magic. We all know of this wondrous land, told to us in magnificent stories...but imagine if what we have all been told is wrong, and the history of the land after Robert's Rebellion was different, changed. In the east magic still thrives, celebrated and powerful. But in the west, magic has been driven to the edge of extinction, and the practitioners pushed to hide their skills and not talk of their sinful deeds. The gods are active in this world, inspiring leaders, using champions and siring children. These children became powerful figures, leading great armies and conquering mighty cities with their various gifts of magic and dragons. In the east there would be children of R'hllor and the great Shadowbinders of Asshai. The Valyrian gods were many, and their children were also many. The magic of their many children was what allowed them to bond with or bind their great beasts, the dragons, and led to them conquering most of Essos, until the Doom of Valyria 400 years before.

In Westeros however, many gods existed but few were openly worshiped. The old gods of the south like the Storm God, or the Lord of the Skies and the Lady of the Waves, or even the Drowned God of the Ironborn. But these were mostly thrown out when the Andals invaded and brought their Faith of the Seven with them. These faiths however still have adherents, even as few as they are, and so the gods remain. And they, like the other religions, have children as well. When the gods favored one bloodline too much, the result was madness. This could be seen with the Targaryens, who as the last family of true Valyrian heritage had been favored greatly among their gods, and the results of the madness were seen in some like the Brightflame and Aerys II 'the Mad King'. The children of the gods were powerful figures, and many examples could be seen throughout history. The Great Houses of Westeros were founded by children of the gods, and were supported by various gods in that way as well.

In this generation one child would rise above all the others, fated for greatness with a magnificent destiny ahead of them. This boy would be born in the most unlikely of places, north of the Wall of Ice in the North. To some this place is known as the North North, to others the True North, but to some it was just home. Among those people who call it home there was one woman, seemingly ordinary but in her veins there was a power that had long lain dormant. Her ancestors were children of the gods, the most powerful of them the god of water and ice, and the northern oceans. And she herself would bear the child of this same god, who was drawn to the woman by her looks but also by her strong blood. There were stirrings in the world, and the future threat to the world could not be stopped if some powerful and strong children were not conceived soon. The world needed a leader, so he decided to give them one.

Chapter 1: The Child Messenger

He had always been fast on his feet. Raised as a ward of the North under Lord Eddard Stark, training and lessons had begun at a very young age. So he fought with Jon and Robb, raced them and played with them. Everyone could see that they were all skilled, athletic young boys, but he stood out even among the cream of the crop. The three older boys; Robb, Jon and himself, all spoke and wrote the common language, jokingly called Westerosi by many, fluently. They had also all learned the basics of Valyria so that if any of them traveled they would be prepared with the basics. He however had learned it fluently and often spoke it with maesters, as they were also required to learn it fluently. That was all they had been required to learn, but he had chosen to also learn some of the native eastern tongues.

He had conferred with Maester Luwin and had received books on the basics of the Dothraki as well as the Qartheen tongues. He had also spent almost 2 years with some of the hill clansmen tribes and had learned the Old Tongue fluently as well. Bran was just beginning his own education, so would also be learning the basics of Valyrian. Knowing Bran, he would probably want to learn as much as he could just like himself.

But since he was a 'barbarian wildling' many people teased him and made fun of him, mocking him for the heritage he had no control over. When he went into the town, gangs formed to chase after and beat him. The nagging whispers and hidden laughter as he walked got on his nerves. And those who knew him well enough knew that strange things happened when he was nervous or angry, and sometimes when in danger. Strange, seemingly magical things. The water spouting out of a fountain exploding when he was confronted by a gang of older kids, or the lakes never feeling as cold to him as to the others. One time, water had bubbled up from a previously dry spring on a hunting trip when he had run out of water. Other things also happened, lesser, more unnoticeable things, but he still knew. He could feel it when it happened. A weird feeling bubbled up in him, and when those things happened the pressure would release.

To get away from all of it he would travel outside of the city, usually to the place he was now. He was currently in one of the "holy groves" which dotted the North, in increasing numbers these days. It seemed like every other week there were reports of a new grove being found, being found mostly in the northern parts of the land but gradually spreading farther south. This particular grove was his favorite, mostly due to the hot springs here which were always relaxing after a couple days of hiking. He was 2 days outside of Winterfell, to the north east of the castle near to the Long Lake. This was also one of the largest groves he had come across, and the Weirwood tree was the largest he had seen outside of the one in the Godswood of Winterfell.

This place always felt like home to him. He felt close to the gods here, whom he truly believed existed with his whole being. When he was here, it was like a vacation with an old friend, even though nowadays he mostly came alone. For the past 4 years he and usually Robb and Jon had come here together, after they had found it on their first hunting trip without adult guidance. But in the last year, they had gradually stopped coming, making one excuse or the other for not being able to go.

This grove was hard to find, and many people did not even know that it existed. In fact, to his knowledge only he, Robb, Jon, Bran and Lord Stark knew how to get here.

This trip had been particularly strange. On his travels up here he had heard the howling of wolves in the distance and had contemplated turning back, but something kept him going. When he had arrived at the Weirwood, there had been fresh sap leaking from the eyes, which rarely happened these days. And he had this feeling that he was being watched, though he strangely didn't seem to mind too much. The howling had also continued during his first couple nights here, and it unnerved him to hear such a sound, as it would any sane man.

He had been here for 2 days already and it was getting dark again, so he decided to get ready for bed. He got out of the springs, completely naked but unashamed of his body. He knew that he was an attractive person, even if he was only 14 namedays now. He had long black hair, slightly curly and falling to his shoulders. His shoulders were wide and rippling with muscles, and his chest and abs had great definition from using his core and arms from training with the other boys so much.

He wrapped his cloak around himself and sat in front of the Weirwood tree, facing its massive bulk. He began to pray, asking for protection and health and safety for his friends and those whom he saw as family. The woods around him stirred, the animals of the nights getting ready for their nightly routines of hunting and foraging for food under the light of the full moon. The wind picked up around him, rustling the leaves of the trees. It almost seemed to caress him as he prayed, holding him in the embrace of the gods, and he almost imagined he could feel the warm touch of his mother.

The fire he had built was slowly dying, so he worked to build it back up by slowly adding more and more wood. He packed it on thick, as he was going to sleep soon and didn't want to have to get up in the middle of the night. He chewed on some of the jerky and the bread with jam that he had brought with him. He put on his thicker cloak to keep out the chill of the late summer nights and was soon in the embrace of sleep.

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 _She couldn't let the beast get away. It was her last chance to live. She knew that she didn't have much time. Her strength was fading, and her pups would not survive the birth if she did not eat soon. With her head low to the ground, she finally picked up the scent again, and continued on her way. She followed the trail for seemingly hours, and the animal remained elusive. It was a great beast, she could tell. It left a great scent, among the many other odd scents of the night, and her weakening body panged with hunger at the thought of a fresh meal._

 _She was getting close. The soft gurgling of the stream nearby told her that the animal may have stopped for water. The stream steamed in the cool night air, and she walked up it towards the direction it came, hoping the noise might cover her own less than nimble stalking._

 _It happened suddenly. She came into a clearing where the crackling of a fire could be heard, but the low light it gave off was nothing compared to the light of the full moon reflecting off of the warm pool that separated her from the fire._

 _The great stag was there, not 30 feet away, standing on the edge of the pool. It's body was on alert, and it must have heard her for it's head snapped around to stare at her. It chuffed into the air, the warm breath fogging in the night, and squared up to her._

 _She couldn't stand it any longer. She broke into a run, charging at the beast which lowered it's antlered head and shook it. She dove at the last minute, and finally-_

He startled awake, the sound of dying animals breaking the quiet of the night. He looked across the pool, and there, before his very eyes, lay a huge grey mass, it's bulk too obviously large to be any type of animal known to him. He grabbed the knife he had with him, wading across the shallow pond and reaching the other side quickly. The great beast was dead, he knew that immediately. There was too much blood underneath it's jaw and across it's chest for it to be alive.

He struggled to heave the huge animal over and started when he saw that underneath it lay a great stag also covered in blood but still gasping for air. The antler of the stag was lodged underneath the jaw of the beast, and it couldn't move it's head for the great weight of the beast weighed it down. He could tell, though, that the stag did not have much longer. It had scratches along it's ribs, with blood steadily flowing out. He watched it slowly die, the light leaving it's eyes as it slowed and eventually stopped. The giant wolf had killed it, but only to for it to kill her as well.

He dislodged the antler from the throat of the wolf and marveled at the size of the antlers. It must have had a 30 inch spread, and it was a large bodied animal as well. He would eat well while he remained here, and was glad he had brought extra bags for if he had found any herbs or special plants along the way. He couldn't carry much, but he would smoke some of the meat and bring it back with him if he could.

He pulled the wolf back more and once again noted it's great size, as well as it's proportionally long legs. This was a direwolf. They hadn't been seen south of the Wall for hundreds of years. As he was moving it off of the stag, he found that it's stomach was larger than it should be, thought the rest of it seemed as if it hadn't eaten in many days.

It's stomach also seemed to be moving, bulging outwards in certain places before moving back and bulging in different areas. He realized then that this must be a pregnant mother, and that the pups were now trapped inside of their own mother. Deciding there was nothing else to be done, he grit his teeth, gathered his wits about him and readied the knife in his hands.

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